Bipartisan Group of Senators Announces Report on Simplifying Federal Regulations for America’s 6,000 Colleges and Universities

Chairman Alexander announces Feb. 24 hearing on report recommendations to streamline and reduce federal regulations, while protecting students and taxpayers

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 12 – A bipartisan group of senators on the Senate education committee, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), today announced a report detailing ways Congress and the Department of Education could streamline and reduce federal regulations for America’s 6,000 colleges and universities, while protecting students and taxpayers. Chairman Alexander also announced a hearing to discuss the findings of the report on February 24.

Click HERE to access the report, supported by the American Council on Education.

In November 2013, these senators formed the Task Force on Government Regulation of Higher Education, a group of 16 college and university presidents and higher education experts co-chaired by Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos and University System of Maryland Chancellor William Kirwan, to conduct a comprehensive, nonpartisan review of the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations and the reporting requirements on colleges and universities.

The task force’s objective was to provide specific recommendations on reducing, eliminating or streamlining duplicative, costly or confusing regulations and reporting requirements to Congress and the administration in anticipation of the ninth reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

“The stack of federal regulations on colleges and universities today, which stretches as tall as I am, is simply the piling up of well-intentioned laws and regulations, done without anyone first weeding the garden,” said Senate education committee Chairman Alexander. “This report will guide our efforts to weed the garden and allow colleges to spend more of their time and money educating students, instead of filling out mountains of paperwork. I thank the members of the task force, Chancellors Zeppos and Kirwan, and the American Council on Education for their hard work on this report—and I look forward to discussing their findings in our committee.”

“When I helped convene this Task Force, I had one goal in mind: to support our institutions of higher education – help them be them as they work to educate our next generation,” Senator Mikulski said. “I have heard many concerns from these institutions regarding federal requirements that, while well-intentioned, often end up being duplicative and burdensome. I agree that we need to regulate, not strangulate. I thank the Co-Chairs of the Task Force, Chancellors Kirwan and Zeppos, for leading such a monumental effort.”

“Over a year ago when this task force began its work, I noted the ‘tidal wave’ of regulations facing institutions of higher education and the resulting higher tuition costs to students,” said Senator Burr. “Not only has this report confirmed, with specificity, the extent of these problems, it shows that every day the situation worsens as a result of the Department of Education’s never-ending addiction to regulating colleges and universities. My hope is Congress can put the report’s recommendations to action as soon as possible. I also want to thank the members of the task force, but am especially appreciative of President Tom Ross and Chancellor Harold Martin for accepting my invitation to advocate for North Carolina’s views on the task force.”

“Our colleges and universities are the gateways to success in the 21st century economy for this generation and the next,” Senator Bennet said. “We look forward to reading more about the task force's ideas to help these institutions focus more on improving the quality of education and less on regulations. This report will be part of the process for reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. We’re extremely grateful for the hard work of the task force, particularly Bruce Benson of the University of Colorado and Senator Bill Armstrong of Colorado Christian University for bringing a Colorado perspective to the panel.”

"I appreciate the senators’ commitment to finding solutions to the challenges America’s colleges and universities face due to the sharp increase in the amount and complexity of government regulation,” Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos said. "As higher education administrators continue to work to keep costs down, increase accessibility, and make college more affordable, this task force represents a valuable opportunity to recommend more efficient regulations that will benefit students and families while we maintain responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. It has been a privilege to engage with Chancellor Kirwan and my higher education colleagues in this important endeavor."

“It has been an honor to serve with Chancellor Zeppos as co-chair of the Task Force on Federal Regulation of Higher Education and I applaud the hard work of all Task Force members in addressing this issue,” said Chancellor William Kirwan. “While the Task Force recognizes the importance of federal oversight in our accountability to taxpayers, we all stand to better serve our students by making certain regulations less cumbersome. We look forward to the feedback from members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, and I personally extend my gratitude to Senators Mikulski, Alexander, Bennett and Burr for their foresight and commitment to ensure high quality, affordable, and accessible higher education opportunities for our nations’ citizens."

“I appreciate the opportunity to have served on the Task Force, and want to express my thanks to the bipartisan group of senators who recognized the need to create it and to my fellow Task Force members for their hard work, especially our co-chairs, Chancellors William E. Kirwan of the University System of Maryland and Nicholas S. Zeppos of Vanderbilt University,” saidAmerican Council on Education President Molly Corbett Broad. “I look forward to the report’s findings and recommendations being explored in detail during the upcoming Senate hearing.”

In addition to Zeppos, Kirwan and Broad, Task Force members include: Former Senator Bill Armstrong, president of Colorado Christian University; Bruce Benson, president of University of Colorado; Thomas Chema, president emeritus of Hiram College; Margaret Drugovich, president of Hartwick College; Dana Hoyt, president of Sam Houston State University; Brice Harris, chancellor of California Community College System; Jonathan Kaplan, CEO of Laureate Online Education; Neil Kerwin, president of American University; J. Michael Locke, former CEO of Rasmussen College; Harold Martin, chancellor of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; Claude Pressnell, president of Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association; Tom Ross, president of University of North Carolina; and Bob Templin, president of Northern Virginia Community College.

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For access to this release and Chairman Alexander’s other statements, click here.